ORIGINAL ARTICLE Diazo coupling for the determination of

selexipag by visible spectrophotometry

Giri Prasad Gorumutchu1, Venkata Nadh Ratnakaram2
Department of Chemistry, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, 2Department of
1

Chemistry, GITAM University, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Aim and Objective: The aim and objective of this study were to develop a spectrophotometric method for the
assay of selexipag (selective IP prostacyclin receptor agonist indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial
hypertension) in pure and pharmaceutical formulations so that it will be an alternative quantitative method to
chromatographic methods which require large quantities of organic solvents, where some are with hazardous and
toxic properties. Materials and Methods: The method is based on the diazo coupling of selexipag with diazotized
p-nitroaniline in alkaline medium to form a stable green-colored and water-soluble azo dye with a maximum
absorption at 510 nm. Optimization of reaction conditions was carried out to get highly sensitive and stable
colored complex. Results and Discussion: Beer’s law is obeyed over the concentration range of 2–12 µg/mL with
a molar absorptivity of 3.33 × 104 L/mol/cm. The limit of detection was 0.35 μg/mL and limit of quantification
was 1.0 µg/mL. The results demonstrated that the procedure is accurate, precise, and reproducible (relative
standard deviation <2%). Conclusions: This method was tested and validated for various parameters according
to the current ICH guidelines.

Key words: Diazo coupling, p-nitroaniline, selexipag, validation, visible spectrophotometry

INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS

S
elexipag is a selective IP prostacyclin Analytical reagent grade chemicals were used throughout the
receptor agonist and suggested for investigation. Double distilled water was used, and solutions
the treatment of pulmonary arterial were freshly prepared. Absorbance was measured using double
hypertension to delay disease progression and beam UV-Visible Spectrophotometer (TECHCOMP, UV
reduce the risk of hospitalization.[1] Selexipag 2310) equipped with HITACHI software version 2.0. Quartz
is rapidly absorbed after oral administration cuvettes (10 mm path length). Samples were weighed using
and hydrolyzed to the pharmacologically Shimadzu AUX-220 balance. Spectroscopic measurements
more active metabolite ACT-333679.[2] It was were conducted at room temperature (25 ± 5°C).
synthesized by Nippon Shinyaku and later jointly
developed with Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Preparation of Reagents
2-{4-[(5,6-diphenylpyrazin-2-yl)(propan-2-yl)
amino]butoxy}-N-methanesulfonylacetamide
Para nitroaniline (PNA) solution (7.24 × 10–3 M): Accurately
is the chemical name of selexipag [Figure 1].[3]
100 mg of PNA was weighed and was taken in a 100 mL
Thorough literature survey makes it clear
Address for correspondence:
that no visible spectrophotometric method
Dr. Venkata Nadh Ratnakaram, Department of Chemistry,
is reported so far for the determination of
GITAM University, Bengaluru Campus, Nagadenahalli,
selexipag, but only one high-performance
Doddaballapur Taluk, Bengaluru – 561 203, Karnataka,
liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was
India. Phone: +91-9902632733.
published.[4] Therefore, the current study
E-mail: doctornadh@yahoo.co.in
reports the development and validation of a
flexible visible spectrophotometric method for
Received: 06-07-2018
the determination of selexipag in bulk drug and
Revised: 07-12-2018
tablet dosage formulations using a diazotized
Accepted: 16-12-2018
coupling reaction.

International Journal of Green Pharmacy • Oct-Dec 2018 (Suppl) • 12 (4) | S822

 Gorumutchu and Ratnakaram: Selexipag determination by colorimetry
volumetric flask. It was dissolved in 20 mL of one normal
HCl solution and made up to the mark with distilled water.
Sodium nitrite solution (1.45 × 10–2 M): Accurately 100 mg of
NaNO2 was weighed and was taken in a 100 mL volumetric
flask. It was dissolved in distilled water and made up to the mark.
Sodium hydroxide solution (1 M): Accurately 4 g of NaOH
was weighed and was taken in a 100 mL volumetric flask. It
is dissolved in distilled water and made up to the mark.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Chromophore and its Absorption Spectrum
The developed chromophore for the determination of
selexipag by visible spectrophotometry has shown a
characteristic absorption maximum at 510 nm [Figure 2].
Optimization of Reaction Conditions
Reaction conditions affecting the development, sensitivity,
and stability of colored product are volume/concentration of
Figure 1: Chemical structure of selexipag
Figure 2: Visible spectrum of green-colored and water-soluble azo dye of selexipag
International Journal of Green Pharmacy • Oct-Dec 2018 (Suppl) • 12 (4) | S823
solutions (PNA, acid, sodium nitrite, and sodium hydroxide),
time for the formation and stability of colored product, and
temperature. Variation of reaction conditions was carried out
to optimize them. Color species absorbance was measured
in the establishment of optimum conditions by changing the
condition of one parameter at a time and by maintaining fixed
conditions for others.
Effect of Type and Volume of Base
The primary experiments show that reasonable colored
intensity was observed with p-nitroaniline in the alkaline
medium. Although most of the researchers reported the
production of higher intensity in the presence of sodium
hydroxide,[5-7] few others also reported the best results
with sodium carbonate, for example, in the estimation of
Vitamin B6[8] and paracetamol.[9] Hence, an effort was made to
learn the effect of type of alkali on the intensity of formed azo
dye by recording absorbance using one molar concentration
solution of each alkali [Table 1]. Maximum absorption values
were found with sodium hydroxide, and hence, it was used in
consequent studies. Volume of one molar sodium hydroxide
addition is fixed as 1 mL as lower absorption was observed
on both the sides of that volume [Figure 3].
Table 1: Effect of type of base
Alkali used (1 M) Absorbance*
NaOH 0.547
KOH 0.521
Na2CO3 0.306
NaHCO3 Slow development of turbidity
*At 8 µg/mL selexipag
 Gorumutchu and Ratnakaram: Selexipag determination by colorimetry

Effect of Concentrations of PNA and NaNO2 absorbance values are reproducible in the range 20–35°C.
However, colored solution was found to be unstable beyond
Absorbance was increased up to 0.2 M acid concentration in that temperature range. Hence, all the studies were carried
PNA solution and then decreased. Probably, more number out at room temperature.
of amine molecules occur in their ionic form at higher
concentration of acid, and hence, the rate of coupling is
Table 2: Effect of Time on coupling reaction
hampered. Higher intensity of color was found when volumes
of PNA (7.24 × 10−3 M) and NaNO2 (1.45×10−2 M) solutions Time (min) Absorbance*
were in the range of 0.8–1.0 mL. Persistent absorbance was 2 0.518
observed even at higher volumes of sodium nitrite, whereas 5 0.547
fluctuating results were observed with PNA [Figure 3]. 10 0.541
15 0.538
Effect of Time on Development of Color and Its 30 0.538
Stability
60 0.535
*At 8 µg/mL selexipag
Different time intervals (2–90  min) were chosen to study the
optimum time required for the formation (i.e., for coupling
reaction) and its stability of color at room temperature. Table 3: Effect of reactants addition sequence on
Absorbance values [Table 2] show that maximum intensity
absorbance
of color is achieved within 5 min and is stable almost up
to 1 h. Reactants and reagents Absorbance*
addition sequence
Drug+Base+DPNA 0.410
Sequence of Addition of Reagents
DPNA+Base+Drug 0.493
The effect of the sequence of addition of reagents on DPNA+Drug+Base 0.547
the formation of chromogen was studied. The observed *At 8 µg/mL selexipag. DPNA: Diazotized para nitroaniline
absorbance values [Table 3] indicate that the sequence
“diazotized pNA (DPNA) + Drug + Base” can be considered Table 4: Calibration values of selexipag
for the addition of reactants and reagents.[10]
Concentration (µg/mL) Absorbance*
Effect of temperature on colored complex stability was 2 0.131
inspected at various temperatures and found that the 4 0.259
6 0.408
8 0.547
10 0.682
12 0.816
*Average of three determinations

Table 5: Optical and regression parameters

Parameter Value
Optical characteristics
Apparent molar absorptivity 3.33×104 L/mol/cm
Sandell’s sensitivity 0.01 5 µg/cm−2
Figure 3: Optimization of volumes of para nitroaniline, Regression analysis
NaNO2, and NaOH solutions Slope 0.069
Intercept −0.009
Regression coefficient (r) 0.999
Validation parameters
λmax 510 nm
Beer’s law limit 2–12 Linearity, μg/mL
Limit of detection 0.35 μg/mL

Figure 4: Formation of diazotized p-nitroaniline Limit of quantitation μg/mL 1.0 μg/mL

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 Gorumutchu and Ratnakaram: Selexipag determination by colorimetry

Optimized Method Procedure extension. Coupling of a diazonium salt to activated/

Into a series of 25 mL volumetric flasks, 1.0 mL each of PNA
and NaNO2 solutions was successively added and allowed
to stand for 5 min. Aliquot of standard working solution of
drug (100 µg/mL) was transferred into volumetric flasks.
Then, 1. 6 mL of NaOH solution was added and the volume
in each flask was made up to the mark with distilled water.
The absorbance of the generated green-colored chromophore
was measured at λmax 510 nm against the reagent blank after
5 min of mixing.
Chromophore Formation and Chemistry
Oxidation reactions play a pivotal role in the determination
of pharmaceutical drugs.[11,12] Of those, azo dye formation is
the well-exploited chemical reaction for the determination
of drugs by derivatization. λmax of azo dyes is outspread
into the visible region due to the linkage of two aromatic
rings by diazo group which results in conjugation
neutral/deactivated skeleton produces an azo dye, where
a diazonium ion can be considered as an electrophile.
Diazonium ion activity dictates the azo dye formation
rate. Coupling reaction of diazonium ion with deactivated
or neutral skeleton is promoted due to the presence of a
substituent with a nature of resilient electron withdrawing
on diazonium ion.[13,14] pNA is one of the prominent
organic chromophores. It is a member of a specific class of
compounds known as “push or pull,” in which an electron-
donor (NH2 group) and electron acceptor (NO2 group)
are joined through π-conjugated system (phenyl ring).[15]
pNA is one of the diazotizable aromatic amines and forms
DPNA by the reaction of nitrous acid (formed from sodium
nitrite and HCl) with it [Figure 4].[16,17]
In the subsequent step, DPNA is accountable to the formation
of colored azo dyes due to its coupling reaction with selexipag.
This diazo coupling can be regarded as a condensation
reaction coupled with the elimination of a proton due to
the reaction between DPNA and a compound possessing an

Figure 5: Resonance hybrid of pyrazine

Table 6: Recovery values

Level of Total amount of drug Amount of drug recovered Statistical % Recovery=Practical×100/
recovery (%) (µg/mL) (a+b) (µg/mL) (Practical) evaluation Theoretical
(Theoretical)
50 6 5.91 Mean: 5.93 98.50
6 5.95 SD: 0.02 99.17
6 5.92 % RSD: 0.29 98.67
100 8 7.94 Mean: 7.91 99.25
8 7.89 SD: 0.02 98.62
8 7.91 % RSD: 0.26 98.87
150 12 11.98 Mean: 12.03 99.83
12 12.09 SD: 0.05 100.75
12 12.01 % RSD: 0.39 100.08
Nominal concentration used (µg/mL) (a): 4 for all recovery levels. Amount of drug added (µg/mL) (b): 2, 4, and 8 for 50%, 100%, and 150%,
respectively

Table 7: Precision readings

Concentration of Concentration*
selexipag (μg/mL) Intraday % RSD Interday % RSD
Mean±SD (μg/mL) Mean±SD (μg/mL)
2 2.05±0.02 0.97 2.08±0.02 0.96
8 8.04±0.09 1.12 8.11±0.09 1.11
12 11.95±0.11 0.92 11.95±0.11 0.92
*Average of six determinations. RSD: Relative standard deviation

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 Gorumutchu and Ratnakaram: Selexipag determination by colorimetry

active hydrogen atom. The two possible substitution points
on selexipag are benzene ring and pyrazine ring.
Figure 6: Mole ratio method for complex formation at 8 µg/mL
of selexipag
Pyrazine is aromatic in character and has lower resonance
energy compared to benzene. It undergoes electrophilic
aromatic substitution on one of its resonance hybrids, which
are shown in Figure 5. From its canonical forms, four points
of electron deficient are visible at 2, 3, 5, and 6 positions[18]
indicating the possible attack by nucleophilic reagents at
those positions. As DPNA is considered as an electrophile,
the possibility of its attachment to pyrazine structure can
be eliminated. Hence, benzene ring is the only left over
option for attachment. To know more about the nature of
the formed dye (i.e., the number of DPNA substitutions on
the drug), reaction ratio between selexipag and DPNA was
determined.[19] Figure 6 shows that the ratio is 1:1, and hence,
the scheme [Figure 7] illustrates the proposed mechanism.
The substitution of DPNA is directed preferably to the para

Figure 7: Formation of green-colored and water-soluble azo dye

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 Gorumutchu and Ratnakaram: Selexipag determination by colorimetry
position to the attached active group, and if para position is
already occupied, then it will be directed to the ortho. Hence,
DPNA is directed to the para position on the benzene ring
which is further attached to pyrazine.
Validation of Proposed Method
The proposed was validated as per the existing ICH
guidelines.[20]
Linearity and range
A graph was plotted between absorbance and concentrations
(2–12 μg/mL) to obtain a linear calibration curve [Figure 8].
Three independent measurements were carried out for each
concentration, and their mean value was indicated as a point of
the calibration graph [Table 4]. The correlation coefficient of
linear regression equation (y = 0.069x−0.0095) was >0.999, and
hence, linearity of the proposed analytical method was tested.
Different optical and regression parameters are shown in Table 5.
Accuracy
Accuracy of the proposed method was tested by determining
percent recovery values. This was performed by adding
Figure 8: Calibration graph of selexipag
Table 8: Ruggedness data of selexipag
Concentration of Concentration*
selexipag (μg/mL) Mean±SD (μg/mL) % RSD
2 2.04 0.98
8 8.06 1.12
12 11.92 0.67
*Average of six determinations. RSD: Relative standard deviation
Table 9: Estimation of selexipag from its formulation
Formulation Labeled amount (µg) Amount found* Mean±SD (µg)
Uptravi Tablets
®
200
*Average of three determinations. RSD: Relative standard deviation
International Journal of Green Pharmacy • Oct-Dec 2018 (Suppl) • 12 (4) | S827
different amounts (50%, 100%, and 150%) of bulk samples
of selexipag to 4 μg/mL to maintain the total amount of drug
(theoretical) concentration within the linearity range. The
percentage recovery values were in the range of 98.50–100.75
[Table 6]. A high level of accuracy for the proposed method
is evident as standard deviation (SD) values are lower and %
relative SD (%RSD) values are <1.
Precision
Intra- and inter-day precision were studied by selecting three
different concentrations of selexipag in the linear range
(2–12 μg/mL). Of the six independent series, analysis was
carried out on the same day and on 6 consecutive days for each
concentration [Table 7]. Satisfactory precision of the method
is evident from lower % RSD values in the range of 0.92–1.12
and 0.92–1.11, respectively, for intra- and inter-day studies.
Ruggedness
The developed method was evaluated for the ruggedness by
carrying out assay at different concentrations (2, 8, and 12 μg/
mL) of selexipag by two different analysts on different days
under the same optimized conditions. No significant difference
between the analyst values indicates the reproducibility of
results, and hence, the proposed method is rugged [Table 8].
Detection of limit of detection (LOD) and limit of
quantification (LOQ)
The sensitivity of the proposed method was confirmed
from the calculations of LOD and LOQ. Signal-to-noise
ratio method[21] was used to determine LOD and LOQ for
selexipag from the values of S (slope of the calibration curve)
and σ (SD of the response) as per the ICH guidelines.[20]
LOD = 3.3×σ/S = 0.35 μg/mL and
LOQ = 10×σ/S = 1.01 μg/mL.
Analysis of Pharmaceutical Formulations
Chromophore was derived from the extracts of selexipag
tablets (Uptravi®), and absorbance values were measured
to determine the amount of API present in tablet (on an
average weight basis) [Table 9]. Without any interference
from common excipients, the amount of selexipag in
pharmaceutical formulations can be effectively determined
by the proposed method because the recovery values of the
API are good. As spectrophotometric methods are preferred
in quality control laboratories of developing countries,[22-27]
the present method can be used for routine analysis.
% Drug recovered % RSD
198.58±0.76 99.92 0.38
 Gorumutchu and Ratnakaram: Selexipag determination by colorimetry
CONCLUSIONS
The proposed method exploits the application of diazo
coupling reaction for the determination of selexipag. It is
simple, accurate, fast, and inexpensive. It does not require the
usage of relatively large amounts of potentially hazardous and
expensive organic solvents. Data of recovery study indicate
the reproducibility and accuracy of the current method. The
proposed methods can be used for routine quality control
of selexipag in bulk drug and tablet formulation in the
pharmaceutical laboratories and industries as an alternative
to the HPLC and liquid chromatography–tandem mass
spectrometry methods.
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Source of Support: Nil. Conflict of Interest: None declared.